Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is on
Marriott's board of directors, but he wasn't involved in the
hotel chain's decision to
send Ariz. Gov. Jan Brewer (R) a letter Monday asking her to
veto a bill that would allow businesses to deny services to gay
and lesbian customers. While NBC reported Tuesday that Brewer had decided
to veto the bill, her office denied thatclaim, telling Business Insider
in an email that "Governor Brewer hasn’t
yet made a decision."

A source at
Marriott confirmed the letter — which
cited concernsabout "negative impacts on the
hospitality industry in Arizona and on the state's overall
economic climate" and potential "travel boycotts" — was the work
of the company's government affairs office and was not vetted by
the board of directors.

Romney's family has a long relationship with the Marriott family.
In 2012, Marriott head J.W. "Bill" Marriott Jr.
campaigned by Romney's side. Romney left the company's board
during his presidential bid, but
rejoined it in December 2012. Romney did not immediately
respond to a request for comment on this story.

Marriott has long a history of gay-friendly policies and
political activism. Though Bill Marriott and his family are
devout Mormons, the company
stood on the sidelines during the Mormon Church's campaign
against gay marriage in California instead choosing to reiterate
their commitment to gay rights. In
a 2012 interview, Bill Marriott said that while he personally
believes marriage should only be between a man and woman, the
company needs "to appeal to the masses out there, no matter what
their beliefs are."